Chapter 29

After diggingthrough a couple of my clothes boxes in Roman's room, I find something skimpy; a cropped yellow halter top, a short white skirt, and tennis shoes. I change quickly, then grab my phone, and head downstairs.

Escaping the house ends up being a lot easier than I thought it would be. There are only a few people wandering around the house, but none of them are Sacred Sons. Lucas is nowhere in sight. I guess he must have gone to his room, and the other two aren't here either. I wonder if they're still at the restaurant?

Whatever. Doesn't matter.

As I walk through the kitchen to the back door, a couple of people sitting around give me side-eye, but they don't say anything. After what happened with Nicole, I doubt they would. I sent a pretty clear message to everyone when I kicked her out.

I walk around to the front of the house and see Wyn waiting in her car, idling at the curb. I sprint across the front lawn, and hop into the passenger seat, slamming the door closed.

"Hey," I breathe. "Thanks for rescuing me."

"Wow, you just walked right out," she says, pulling out into the road. "I'm impressed. You're either brave or stupid."

"No one was even standing guard," I say.

I don't even know where Wyn is taking me, but, honestly, it doesn't even matter at this point. I need to get out. Doesn't matter where. But, I do promise myself one thing; if there's alcohol involved, then I'm getting drunk. After the last few weeks I've had, I deserve a drunken night of mayhem.

"Thank God for that," Wyn laughs. "You lucked out."

"So what was everyone saying when Lucas and I left?" I ask.

As she's driving, she blows out a breath and shakes her head. "Man, what weren't they saying? A lot of speculation about whether or not Roman is going to ditch you and start things up with one of the Debs."

"Jen," I supply, giving voice to what she's probably thinking, but doesn't want to say. I'm sure she's trying to protect my feelings.

Wyn glances at me with sympathy. "Yeah."

"Don't look at me like that," I say. "If he's found someone else, then that's a good thing."

But even as the words trip out of my mouth, my chest aches, and tears burn the back of my eyes. Blinking rapidly, I glance out the window so Wyn can't see my face. I can't cry. I won't cry. Not over Roman. It was always going to end like this.

"You're not upset?" I can hear the doubt in her voice.

I swallow past the thickness in my throat. "Why would I be upset? Roman finding someone else to harass is better for everyone."

There's a second of silence before she says, "Is that really what you want?"

No. "Yes," I say, glancing over at her.

"Okay, then cool." With her hands on the steering wheel, she shimmies a little. "Where we're going, there'll be plenty of guys to help you forget Roman-fucking-Rush."

"Thank God," I laugh. "I just want to get drunk and forget the last twenty-four hours ever happened. No, correction—the last month."

We pull up to one of the many frat houses near campus. Wyn flashes me a cautious look. "I'm not going to get in trouble for bringing you here, am I?"

I laugh. "Why would you get in trouble?"

"Roman isn"t going to come bursting through the front doors, demanding the head of whoever brought you here to flirt with other guys?"

I turn to her as we're walking. "Wyn. He's off somewhere with some other chick. He's clearly done with me."

She frowns, and throws her arm around me, giving me an awkward side hug as we walk up to the front door of the frat house. "All you need is some fresh meat," she says, laughing. "And I guarantee, you'll forget all about Roman Rush and his tiny dick."

I swallow. His thick monster dick, I correct inwardly. God, I'm going to miss that. But that's what dildos are for, right?

People are coming and going from the frat house, and we shoulder our way inside. The living room is packed with people, and the music is so loud, the walls are vibrating.

"I'll find us drinks," I scream at Wyn, struggling to be heard over the techno music.

"Okay, I'm going to head outside and see who"s here," she yells, leaning into me. "Meet me out there?"

I nod and start my hunt for alcohol. As I move through the house, I notice several Burning Crown members here. I spot Nathan, Nicole, and several others. Most of the school is here tonight.

In the kitchen, I find some cinnamon whiskey, and I load up two solo cups; one for me, one for Wyn. By the time we leave tonight, we'll need to walk our drunk asses home, but whatever. I'm sure Wyn's car will be fine on the street for one night.

I take a sip of the sickly sweet liquid as I make my way through the dining room, and then into the living room, where the DJ is set up. Everyone is dancing, and before I know it, I'm sipping my whiskey and swaying my hips. The whiskey hits quick, and I'm already feeling a little floaty, that warmth snaking through my veins, loosening me up, making me feel free.

Yasss, this is exactly what I needed.

Setting the drinks down, I let the music take me away, giving in to it. At some point, I feel a pair of hands on my hips, and I glance behind me to see who's brave enough to touch me.

It's some random guy with messy beach hair and a jawline that could cut glass. He smiles at me with a set of pearl-white teeth, and I smile back, turning around to face him fully. We sway together, our bodies moving in unison. A couple of times, someone bumps into me, and I'm shoved into his hard body.

Mmm.He smells nice, like woodsmoke.

I leave the dancefloor briefly to grab my cup and drain it, wincing as the alcohol burns a path down my throat, then I set the empty cup down, and go back to dancing. I'm really feeling the flow, and for the first time in my life, I let myself go. I'm not worried about class tomorrow, or Bree, or Roman, or any of it. I just disappear into the music, and it feels so damn good.

After a while, the guy is pulled away by someone, and I'm left dancing alone in the dead center of the pulsing crowd. We're all moving to the rhythm, and I'm so lost, I'm not even worried about what's happening around me.

And every time my thoughts stray to Roman and Jen, I just dance harder, moving my body until I can hardly breathe. Just as a new song starts, Wyn comes up beside me and yells something in my ear, but I can't hear her. Where we're standing, the music is way too loud.

When I shake my head to tell her I don't understand, she turns and points to the front door. My gaze moves through the crowd of people until I see what she's pointing at.

Roman.

And Jen.

He has one arm around her as they step into the living room. They're hard to miss because everyone stops to look at them as they walk in. My heart leaps into my throat, and I choke on my own breath. Coughing, I whip back around to face Wyn. I'm not a religious person, but right then, I pray to God he doesn't see me.

Actually, no. Fuck him. If he's going to come here with another girl, then I want him to see me. And not just see me, but see me having a great time. Without him.

I'm drunk enough now to make that believable.

I think. Maybe. No, definitely.

The DJ and his equipment are set up on a makeshift stage directly in front of us, which lifts him a little higher than the crowd. Several girls are up on the stage, dancing seductively, and on some crazy, drunken whim, I decide it looks fun.

Tucking my phone into the waistband of my skirt and panties, I push through the crush of people and climb up onto the stage. The other girls are drawn to me like a magnet, and they pull me into their little dance troupe, moving against me. Pretty soon, I forget why I even came up here. It's just me, them, and the music.

The lights are flashing, and the bass is so loud, it vibrates in my bones. I feel so fucking free, and I move my body like no one is watching, seducing a crowd I can't even see beyond the flashing lights.

We're all laughing, swinging our hips, when I feel a hand on my waist. I don't even turn to see who it is, because it doesn't matter. It's a guy, though, I can say that because when I shimmy back to gyrate against whoever it is, the frame behind me is tall and rock solid.

In the back of my mind, though, I wonder if it's the guy from before. But none of the other girls have guys climbing up on stage to dance with them, and that makes me wonder if it's Roman. But he's here with Jen, and I doubt he'd risk pissing her off to come up on stage and dance with me.

Whatever.My bucket of fucks is sooo empty right now. Whoever it is, I hope he can fight, though. Because if it's not Roman, then punches will definitely be thrown. Even though Roman is here with another chick, I'm not sure his fragile male ego can withstand such an open display of disobedience, to use his word.

Suddenly, the tempo of the music changes, and the DJ artfully slides into another song with an upbeat tempo. I slowly turn, arms up, hips swaying, and take a peek at who is behind me.

Ash's handsome face stares down at me.

Oh, damn. I'm pleasantly surprised. He definitely wasn't on my bingo card for tonight. But Roman is here, and he must know that. I wonder if he has some kind of death wish.

Sounds like an Ash problem,my mind immediately supplies. Maybe he saw Roman walk in with Jen, and figures I'm now up for grabs? Either way, I'm glad he found me, and I smile up at him.

Fuck. Roman. Rush.

I move against Ash, and he slides his hands down my waist to my ass, pulling it against him as I move to the rhythm, mouthing the words to the song.

I'm dripping with sweat, gasping for air, and completely out of breath when he finally pulls me off the stage and tugs me into the kitchen, where they have cheap water bottles buried in a cooler. Ash pulls one out and hands it to me.

"Thanks," I say, taking it and cracking the cap open. I guzzle half the bottle, before offering the rest to him. He takes it with a smile, drains the rest, and then tosses the bottle in the sink with a bunch of other empties.

The music is still really loud in here, so he leans down and yells in my ear, "Let's go outside and get some air."

Despite the ice-cold water, I'm still sweating, so I nod, grateful one of us is thinking straight. On our way out, though, I grab the second whiskey I left next to the stage.

And as we move through the house, on our way outside, I can't help it, my gaze scans the crowd, looking for Roman. I find him easily. He's the guy at the center of about thirty people. This must be why he only really parties with his own people, because, otherwise, he's swarmed like a fucking celebrity. I'm thankful for the swarm of people, though, because he's so busy talking to them that he doesn't even see Ash and me walk by.

Cold air washes over me the second we're outside, and I pull it into my lungs. After being inside the house, where it's packed with people, the fresh air feels nice.

I suck in another lungful of air as Ash turns toward me. He notices the red solo cup in my hands and grabs for it, but I pull it away before he can take it. "Ah, ah. This isn't for you," I say. "Get your own. This is for Wyn."

I glance around at the people standing out on the small patio. Beyond the railing, about a hundred feet away, is the ocean. Waves crash in the distance, and even though we're so close tothe beach, we're on a cliff, so there's no direct access to the sand.

I hear Wyn before I see her. Her laugh is distinct, loud, and boisterous, full of amusement. It's what I like most about her, actually. She is who she is, and she doesn't ask permission. She has a genuine "zero fucks given" attitude that I wish I had. Mine is manufactured. I have to force myself to give zero fucks, unless whiskey is involved, apparently.

What's weird is that she's a part of the Sacred Son's inner circle, and I still haven't figured out why. All the other girls in the Burning Crown come off as pick-me girls, but Wyn isn't like that.

I take another look around and still don't see her. The back patio isn't very big, but I realize there's a veranda above us. I walk out a ways and look up to see her leaning against the railing above us, a red solo cup in her hand. Wow, she got up there quickly. She's surrounded by a group of people, laughing at something someone said.

I walk back over to Ash and lift the red solo cup. "She has a drink," I say with a conspiratorial tone. "So I don't think she'll miss this." I lean against one of the thick wood posts that's holding the patio up. "Anyway, you're brave," I say, taking a sip from the cup. "Roman is here, you know."

"Yeah. I saw that." He shoves a hand into his pocket casually.

He looks positively delicious tonight. Scratch that. He looks positively delicious all the time, but tonight, he looks particularly…dashing? Is that a word people still use? He's wearing dark jeans, and a dark Hawaiian shirt, unbuttoned halfway down his chest, exposing a dusting of light-brown hair.

"I also saw him walk in with another chick…" he says, hesitating over the words. "So I figured you were probably unencumbered." He laughs at the last word like he's trying to cleverly ask if Roman and I have broken up.

"Well, I've never been cumbered, so…" I say drunkenly.

He laughs. "Someone should have told Roman that because he definitely staked his claim on you."

I nod and take another sip of my drink. "Yeah, Roman and I fundamentally disagree on that. But—" I spread my arms wide "—as you said, he came here with someone else, so I guess that means he got the message. Better late than never."

My chest hurts just thinking about it, and even now, drunk, standing with a really hot guy, the fact that Roman has moved on to someone else—and so damn quickly—feels like an ice-pick to the chest.

I suck in a sharp breath and swallow hard to keep myself from crying. Wyn said he was probably just trying to prove something, and Lucas said the same thing. But do I really want to be in a situationship with someone who is this fucking toxic?

No. No, I don't.

I want easy, fun. Like Ash, maybe. I mean, why not? He's hot, and he's sweet, and he's obviously into me.

My phone rings, and when I pull it out of my waistband, I see it's Roman. So much for ignoring me, I guess. I decline the call, but he calls again. And again.

Ash laughs. "You'd better answer it. Whoever it is, they're determined to talk to you."

Story of my life when it comes to Roman.

The next time my phone rings, I accept the call. "I'm busy," I say stiffly, hyper-aware that Ash is watching me. If he knows it's Roman calling me, then it might spook him, so I try to sound casual.

Roman's gruff baritone comes through the receiver. "Meet me out front."

Uh. "Why?"

He pushes out a frustrated breath. I can hear the music from inside in the background, but it's not overly loud, so he must be in a room inside the house somewhere, or already out front. "Just do it, Lux. Jesus."

"I respectfully decline," I say, then hang up before he can respond.

The audacity of this guy, I swear. He brings another girl here, then what thinks he can just order me around again? Not happening.

I shove my phone back into my waistband, then turn my attention back to Ash. "Sorry about that."

He lifts a brow. "Who was it?"

I shake my head. "Doesn't matter. What were we saying?" I pause. "Oh, right. Roman is an ass, and he obviously moved on, so…" I shrug to show just how unaffected I am by it.

"Right," Ash laughs, flashing those sexy dimples.

I finish my whiskey and fall into conversation with Ash. We talk about Bree, classes, surfing…and the entire time, my phone is dinging like a goddamn pinball machine. I do my best to ignore it, but five minutes in I'm ready to chuck my phone into the ocean. I'd turn it off, but Bree could text me any minute.

My phone rings yet again, and again, I ignore it.

"Someone is really trying to get ahold of you," Ash says. "You sure you don't want to get that?"

I shake my head, and all of a sudden, my vision gets blurry. I blink and touch my phone, but I don't take it out of my waistband. "No, it's okay. It's just someone wanting me to renew my subscription." The words come out slurred, but I'm sure he got the gist of what I'm saying.

His eyes narrow, and he steps forward to grab my arm. "Are you okay, Lux? What was that you drank?"

I sway a little and try to think, but everything around me is moving, so it's hard to focus. The cup was mine. It was the one I'd grabbed from the kitchen earlier. I did leave it unattended for a couple of minutes…

I glance around, trying to get my bearings, and that's when I see something that stops me cold. A familiar face in the crowd of people on the patio.

Tyler.

He's standing there, tucked amid a group of people playing beer pong. They're laughing and cheering, but he's not playing. He's too busy staring at me.

My heart stops, and I blink several times to clear the fog from my vision. When I finally do, he's gone.

"Where is he?" I ask, looking around frantically, but the quick movement causes me to lose my balance, and I start falling face-first into the wood planks beneath my feet.

Ash lunges for me. "Shit, Lux," he hisses, catching me.

How nice of him.

He rights me, and I try explaining what I just saw, but it must be coming out weird because Ash doesn't seem to be picking up what I'm putting down. He's on his phone, talking to someone, one hand gripping my arm, so I don't topple over.

Yup. The last drink was probably one drink too many.

At some point, I see the sliding glass door open from the corner of my eye, and someone tall walks out. I'm not sure who it is, because all of a sudden I'm incredibly tired, and my eyelids are so heavy, that it's impossible to keep them open. Just a tiny sleep and I'll be ready to party again. I feel my body start to crumble.

Somewhere floating around me, I hear voices—two guys—but I'm not really listening to what they're saying.

"Lux." Oh, that's Roman's voice.

I have no idea what's happening, but I'm happy he's here. I feel his large body as he pulls me against him. I'm tired. So unbelievably tired. I press my face into his chest and inhale, drawing in his beachy musky scent. And it comforts me. It makes me feel safe.

"Mmm," I moan, my head spinning.

He gathers me more tightly against him, and surrounded by his warmth, I allow myself to let go, and tumble down the dark, fathomless rabbit hole…